LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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THE 

GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



BY 

FRANK M:. McMURRY, Ph.D. 



Ncto gork 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1919 

All rights reserved 



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THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



By Fkank M. McMurey 




1. German Empire in 1914 
(Before the War) 

In order to understand the geography of 
the war, it is necessary to make some study 
of Germany. 

There are many states in the German 



Empire, just as there are many in our own 
country, and they vary in size and im- 
portance even much more than states of the 
do ours. In Fig. 2 one can German 
easily see which is largest. Empire 
How does Prussia compare with all the other 
states together in area and population? 



Copyriffht, 1919^ by The Macmillan Company 



APR 23 !9I9 



©CIA525211 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



Which is second in area and population? 
Which is third in each ? Trace the boundary 
of Prussia. Locate Bavaria and Saxony. 
Note that tliree of the states are only cities. 
Name and locate each of these (see p. 45). 

Our largest state is Texas, which is more 
than two hundred times as large as Rhode 
Island, our smallest. Our largest state in 
population is New York, which contains 
more than one hundred times as many 
people as Nevada, our smallest state in 
population. Yet we have no state that is 
nearly equal to all the others either in area 
or population ; in fact, each is a very small 
part of the whole. 

From the map it is plain why people so 
often name Prussia when speaking of Ger- 
many. Perhaps the map suggests to you, 
too, that it is dangerous for a nation to 
have one state so much larger than all the 
others together. In the United States there is 
no such danger. But if Prussia's importance 
and power correspond to its size, it can con- 
trol the other twenty-four states and have 
its own way. If it happened to be governed 
by selfish men, all the other states would 
have to suffer ; and even if it were well gov- 
erned, the other states would have too little 
of self-government. It is generally believed 
that these dangers have not been avoided ; 
indeed, that Prussia's bad leadership has 
been the principal cause of the great war. 

Germany has only a small number of 

colonies, as is seen in Fig. 1. Notice their 

areas. There are tliree that 

ortodo^^^ are each much larger than 

colonies Germany, and their popula- 

1. Location, tions together reach well into 
the millions (see p. 45). All of 
them are in the torrid zone or 

very close to it. Locate each of those in 
.\frica. Note the latitude of New Guinea. 
Germany has been greatly interested in 

2. Their her colonies and has spent 
importance large sums of money for their 
development. Her apparent aim has been 



area, and 
population 



to find suitable places for the emigration of 
Germans from the Fatherland. Although 
the density of population of Germany itself 
(Fig. 534, main text) is not so great as 
that of some other countries, it has greatly 
increased in recent years and some outlet 
has seemed necessary. 

The fact is, however, that very few Ger- 
mans have emigrated to these colonies. 
One reason for this is that the torrid climate 
there makes life almost impossible for white 
people; at any rate, in such regions the 
white man soon loses energy and health. 

The kind of government that a country 
has may be of vital importance to other 
countries, and that is true of the jjjg objection 
German government. Its form to their kind 
is a monarchy and the chief of government 
officer is the Kaiser, William II. He ap- 
points the leading minister, called the Chan- 
cellor, and the latter appoints the other 
members of the cabinet, such, for example, 
as IMinister of Interior and Minister of 
Education. The difficulty is that these 
ministers who form the German cabinet and 
very largely control the state are respon- 
sible tp the Kaiser, and not to the people. 
Also, the Kaiser is not elected by popular 
\ote, as our President is, but has in- 
herited his office and claims that he holds 
it by divine right, or by appointment from 
God alone. Neither is he responsible to the 
people. 

Thus the people have little authority- in 
the government. It is their duty to be 
directed, — to obey, rather than to lead. 
There is no effective check on the Kaiser 
or on the leading statesmen subject to him, 
if they happen to be narrow in their plans 
or too ambitious ; these leaders can even de- 
clare war without the consent of the people. 

To tliis power our objection is very serious. 
We do not believe that a few men should 
have such power. War is so fearful an 
undertaking, the welfare of the mass of the 
people is so involved in it, that they ought 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



to have a voice in deciding such an issue ; at 
least, only those who represent them and are 
fully responsible 
to them should 
have that power. 
Otherwise a 
small group 
might at any 
time make end- 
less trouble both 
for themselves 
and for other 
nations. That 
is what the 
small group in 
Germany has 
done, in starting 
this war, and the 
United States is 
determined to 
aid in making 
such a step im- 
possible again. This is 
aims in the present war. 



to make Prussia powerful without much re- 
gard to the rights of other people. One of 




) Underwood and Underwood 
Fig. 3. — German submarine of the largest type stopping the Spanish mail steamer off Cadiz. 



one of our great 



2. Examples of Prussian Leadership 

We commonly think of the United States 
as a young nation, and of the governments 
The youth of of Europe as very old, but 
the German the fact is that Germany is the 
Empire youngest of the great nations. 

We are nearly a century older than Ger- 
many, for that Empire was founded in 1871. 
There were, of course, German people living 
in that region long before, but until that 
date they were not brought together to 
form the German Empire. 

The leadership in German affairs, both 
before 1871 and since, has rested with Prussia. 
Several acts show the spirit that has pre- 
\-ailed in Prussia and, therefore, in the Ger- 
man Empire during the last sixty years. 

About 1860 a very strong and unscrupu- 
lous man named Otto von Bismarck became 
the chief minister in Prussia. His aim was 



his early acts was to attack the little country 
of Denmark and take from it the south- 
ern section called Schleswig- Annexation of 
Holstein, about one third of Schleswig- 
the whole country. This region Holstein 
was annexed to Prussia and has remained 
a part of it ever since (Fig. 2). 

In area Schleswig-Holstein is nearly equal 
to Massachusetts, and it has been important 
as a farming region. 

The Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and the naval 
port, Kiel, have made it especially noted 
in recent years (Fig. 4). The canal was 
dug in order to secure a short and safe 
route for vessels from the North Sea to the 
Baltic. Kiel is a port at the eastern end 
of the canal, with a harbor so remarkably 
good that it has become the chief naval 
station of Germany. German war vessels 
can reach the North Sea very quickly 
from this haven, and they can escape 
just as quickly by this route when there 
is need. 

Very soon after, 1870, Germany found a 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



chance to quarrel with France and improved 
the opportunity. France was invaded and 
Annexation of Paris captured within a few 
Alsace- months. The terms of peace 

Lorraine that were finally agreed upon 

required France to pay to the Germans an 
indemnity of one billion dollars and also 




to cede to them the region called Alsace- 
Lorraine (Fig. 2). 

This is a region about as large as Con- 
necticut and, like Schleswig-Holstein, valuable 
for its farm products, especially grapes, and 
for its textile industries. But there were two 
other reasons why Prussia coveted it. 

It is a land that is remarkably rich in iron 
ore and coal, and while Germany had ores 
in other sections, none of those sections was 
so rich in these two minerals. The Ger- 
mans foresaw that their need of iron would 
be likely to increase in the future, owing 
both to increased manufacturing and also 
to possible war. War calls for an enormous 
amount of iron and steel. In 1911 they 
obtained over three times as much iron ore 



from this territory as from all the rest of 
Prussia; and had they not had these rich 
iron mines in their possession this great 
war would have ceased long ago. 

The other reason was, perhaps, just as 
important in their minds. Alsace-Lorraine 
had been the prmcipal source of iron in 
France, and if France were de- 
prived of it, the Germans 
thought she could hardly carry 
on a successful war in the 
future. She might, then, be re- 
duced to a second-class power 
and Germany would be able 
to overcome her at will. 

3. Ambitions of Germany 
since 1871 

The Prussians and some of 
the small German states that 
had jobed them Reasons for 
had much reason encourage- 
to feel encouraged ™®''* . 
by their successes. As a re- 
sult of the war with Denmark 
they had acquired extensive 
territory ; as a result of their 
struggle with France they had 
obtained still more valuable territory and a 
billion dollars besides. There was another 
great benefit. This Franco-Prussian war, as 
it was called, had brought the many small 
political divisions of the Germans together 
and made it possible to found, by their 
union, a new nation called the German 
Empire. That great event took place, as 
stated before, in 1871. 

Thus the Germans started out as a new 
nation feeling highly pleased with them- 
selves. They had been invincible in fighting 
and had also become rich. A billion dollars 
in those days seemed a fabulous amovmt and 
made the Germans feel that they were rolling 
in wealth. Another fact gave reason for 
great pride. Neither of these wars had 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



lasted more than a few months and they 
were therefore not very costly. That fact 
must have awakened a very important ques- 
tion in the minds of the people : If wars can 
prove so profitable and yet can be made to 
cost so little, may they not be very desirable 
for a nation ? May not war be a very good 
thing ? 

After the founding of the empire Bismarck 
remained Chancellor for many years. He 
The Middle- was ambitious to develop its 
Europe plan power to the fullest extent, in- 
deed to make it supreme in Europe just as 
he had made Prussia supreme in Germany. 
To this end not only schools were developed 
and mines and factories, but great schemes 
for political power as well. One of the 
latter was called the " Mittel-Europa " or 
in English the " Middle-Europe " plan. 

This was a scheme for the combination 
under one leadership of as many of the 

1. What the Countries in central Europe as 
plan was possible. They were to support 
one another in commerce and also in de- 
fense against enemies in war. The govern- 
ments were to be independent as before, 
but the several nations were to act together 
in military and economic matters. 

On Fig. 416, main text, you can see what 
nations might have been expected to join such 

2. Who the ^ league. The two most promi- 
leader was nent would naturally be Ger- 

° * many and Austria-Hungary. 

Several, if not all, of the Balkan States 
would be Included, and Turkey, for she 
still had some territory in Europe. It 
was hoped, too, that Norway and Sweden, 
Denmark, Holland, and Italy might be in- 
duced to join. 

Of the two most prominent nations Austria- 
Hungary could not, of course, be the leader. 
Her area was somewhat greater than that 
of Germany and her population not very 
much less. Her population was very mixed, 
however, with many opposing interests, and 
their union under one ruler was very loose. 



It had long been expected that at the death 
of the Emperor Francis Joseph, which oc- 
curred only in 1916, the empire would neces- 
sarily fall apart, according to the many 
nationalities that composed it. 

In such circumstances the leadership 
would naturally fall to Germany, for she 
was by far the strongest power. 

Such leadership by Germany, since it 
would allow her to dominate this group of 
states, both in military and economic mat- 
ters, would immensely increase her power 
both in war and in peace. 

There was another project which was 
closely related to this one and was really a 
continuation of it. This became known as 
the " Berlin-to-Bagdad Plan," and as time 
passed the two were developed together. 

According to this scheme the Middle- 
Europe project was to be extended so as 
to include southwestern Asia. The Berlin-to- 
Asia Minor just south of the Bagdad plan 
Black Sea is held by Turkey, i. what the 
and to the south and south- P^Ject was 
east of that region are a number of weak 
Mohammedan states somewhat under the 
control of Turkey. Through a close alliance 
with Turkey, Germany secured valuable 
rights in this entire area, including the right 
to plant colonies, develop trade, and build 
railways. An especially important feature 
in the plan was the building of a railroad 
all the way from Constantinople to Bagdad, 
more than a thousand miles distant, on the 
Tigris River. This river flows through the 
famous coimtry of Mesopotamia and to the 
Persian Gulf. This road would, of course, 
be connected with the road from Berlin to 
Constantinople, so that Berlin, and even 
Hambiu-g, would be directly connected by 
rail with Bagdad ; hence the name, the 
" Berlin-to-Bagdad Plan." The right for its 
construction was obtained from Turkey by 
Germany in 1902-1903. Figure 5 shows how 
nearly completed this railroad was in Jan- 
uary, 1918. Estimate the number of miles 



6 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



that remain to be built. Note the countries 
through which it passes. 

The Turkish Government has always been 
regarded as exceedingly untrustworthy and 
cruel ; and it has allowed or even favored 
so many massacres of innocent people within 
its borders that it has hardly been classed 
among the civilized nations. Yet in order 
to carry throug the Berlin to Bagdad pro- 
ject the Germans cultivated the friendship 



tains valuable mineral deposits, also. It 
promised, therefore, to be a good substitute 
for some of the colonies that Germany 
thought she needed so badly. 

The railroad as a means for transportation 
of goods secured a very important advantage. 
Heretofore the shortest route by water for 
goods from India, the East Indies, and other 
countries of eastern Asia, to western Europe 
has been around Ai'abia, through the Suez 




PROPOSED 
BERLIN TO BAGDAD RAILWAY 



of the Turks diligently, and the Kaiser, in 
a speech at Damascus in 1898, declared : 
" The three hundred million Mohammedans 
who live scattered over the globe may be 
assured of this, that the German Emperor 
will be their friend at all times." 

Much of the Turkish Empire is arid ; but 
in Bible times the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, 
2. Its value in Or Mesopotamia, was very pro- 
time of peace ductive, and by the aid of irri- 
gation it could be made so again. It con- 



Canal and the entire length of the Mediter- 
ranean, to the Atlantic Ocean. Trace this 
course in Fig. 1. This was usually a safer 
and easier route than any by land. Even 
goods from many parts of the Turkish Em- 
pire have had to be transported long dis- 
tances by camels in order to reach Europe. 
But this railway would solve these difficulties 
of transportation. It would furnish a far 
shorter and more convenient route to and 
from the Orient, and save a great quantity 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



of time. It is no wonder that Germany 
magnified such an advantage. 

Preparation for war, as has been indicated, 
has always been an important part of the 
3. Its value in German plans. This proposed 
time of war i-Q^d secured a very great ad- 
vantage in case of war, particularly war 
with either Russia or Great Britain, who 
were her most dangerous opponents among 
the Great Powers. 

It gave to Germany the control of Con- 
stantinople and, thereby, of the passage 
from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. 
This is the outlet by water on which Russia 
has always been most dependent, for her 
ports in the Baltic Sea and on the Arctic 
are hard to reach and frozen up much of 
the year. Yet Russia could now easily be 
blocked at this point by Germany. 

The most valuable colony in all the 
British Empire is India, toward which this 
railroad reaches. King George is known 
as King of England and Emperor of India. 
There are an enormous population and untold 
wealth in that vast country, and no doubt 
Germany has often cast longing eyes in its 
direction. If she were at war with England 
this railroad might make it easy for her to 
make a vast amount of trouble in India, and 
perhaps to attack it directly with an army. 

The realization of the Berlin-to-Bagdad 
plan required that Germany dominate all 

Why this ^^^ countries through which the 
plan is offensive road passed; in short, they 
to the world ^Q^jjj practically have to be 
governed by Germany or her allies. In 
these countries are people of many different 
races and languages who have few interests 
in common and who are just as anxious to 
govern themselves as we are to govern 
ourselves. Our idea is that they should 
have this privilege ; that it would be most 
unjust and an act of extreme tyranny for 
another nation, simply because it had the 
power, to subject these peoples to its own 
will. We should not expect them all to 



submit, and the plan would therefore mean 
a state of constant warfare over this vast 
area. 

Referring to this plan of the Germans 
President Wilson, in his Flag Day Address, 
June 14, 1917, said: 

" Their plan was to throw a broad belt of 
German military power and political control 
across the very center of Europe and beyond 
the Mediterranean into the heart of Asia ; 
and Austria-Hungary was to be as much 
their tool and pawn as Serbia or Bulgaria 
or Turkey or the ponderous states of the 
East. Austria-Hungary, indeed, was to be- 
come part of the central German Empire, 
absorbed and dominated by the same forces 
and influences that had originally cemented 
the German states themselves. The dream 
had its heart at Berlin. It could have had 
a heart nowhere else ! It rejected the idea 
of solidarity of race entirely. The choice 
of peoples played no part in it at all. It 
contemplated binding together racial and 
political units which could be kept together 
only by force — Czechs, Magyars, Croats, 
Serbs, Roumanians, Turks, Armenians — the 
proud states of Bohemia and Hungary, the 
stout little commonwealths of the Balkans, 
the indomitable Tiu-ks, the subtile peoples 
of the East. These people did not wish to 
be united. They ardently desired to direct 
their own affairs, would be satisfied only by 
undisputed independence. They could be 
kept quiet only by the presence or the con- 
stant threat of armed men. They would 
live under a common power only by sheer 
compulsion and await the day of revolution. 
But the German military statesmen had 
reckoned with all that and were ready to 
deal with it in their own way." 

It might seem that German ambition 
would be satisfied with all the preceding 
plans. But there is one other Pan- 
aim that shows still wider am- Germanism 
bitions among some of the leading Germans. 
It is known by the name of Pan-Germanism. 



8 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



There are many Germans scattered over 
the earth. IMillions of our own citizens are 
of German birth or descent; there is a 
large number in Brazil, in Chile, and else- 
where. It was the plan to unite all these 
as far as possible. For that purpose many 
societies were formed in these countries, and 
other societies were organized in Germany to 
keep in touch with them. German-speaking 
people in foreign lands were urged to pre- 
serve the use of the German language, and 
money from Germany was freely spent in 
foreign lands to found German newspapers 
which should spread German culture. 



themselves as Germans rather than Ameri- 
cans and to act accordingly. That would 
tend to make trouble for the rest of the 
world ; but it might strengthen Germany, 
and that was the object. The part " pan " 
in the term " Pan-Germanism " is from the 
Greek meaning "all," and the name signifies 
the extension of German rule wherever Ger- 
mans live. 

All these plans made war a possibility at 
any time and a certainty some time in the 
near futiu-e. German states- Preparations 
men foresaw this outcome from for war 
the beginning and for the last fifty years 



ARMIES, PEACE FOOTING JANUARY 1914 
250,000 500 000 



RUSSIA.... 
FRANCE. _, 

ITALY 

GREAT 
BRITAIN - 
RUMANIA.. 
UNITED 
STATES- 
BELGIUM.. 
SERBIA... 
PORTUGAL 



GERMANV 
AUSTRIA- 
HUNGARY 
TURKEY... 
BULGARIA 



1,290,000 
,.763,820 
..305,038 
.250,000 
.. 130,000 
..104,569 
.. 47,603 
.361,747 
...30,000 

..866,026 
,424,258 
..210,000 
... 5Q,900 



.-yy^yyy^^^^<y^^y-^^;yy 



■<yy:ifff:i^^f::ffff:>f^fih^^ 



:aj^%j^%%^?%j^jjjj%^ 



There was no objection to all this provided 
it aimed at nothing more than a warm feel- 
ing toward the Mother Country. With many 
Germans, however, it meant much more. 
With them the idea had become established 
that all Germans, no matter where they 
dwelt, should be regarded as forming one 
great nation. And again, of course, that 
great nation was to be Germany. In 1905 
Germany passed a law providing that every 
German who became a citizen of a foreign 
country might at the same time retain his 
citizenship in Germany. In that case, if 
a war were to begin between Germany and 
the United States, the 15,000,000 Germans 
in our country would be invited to count 



their preparations for war have kept pace 
with their development of these projects. 
Any American who visited Germany thirty 
years ago was struck with the prominence 
of army officers and soldiers ever;sT\'here. 
Even then every able-bodied man had to 
receive some training for war. Since that 
time such preparations have greatly in- 
creased. In the years 1911, 1912, and 1913 
the German army in time of peace was 
raised from 515,000 to 866,000 men. War 
taxes were raised correspondingly. The gov- 
ernment made great purchases abroad of 
many kinds of military supplies. Quantities 
of nitrate of soda, for instance, for the manu- 
facture of explosives, were imported from 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



Chile and stored. German manufacturers 
of chemicals used in mimitions were forbidden 
to export them. Railroads leading to France 
and Belgium, as well as to Russia, together 
with their equipment, were improved, so as 
to be ready for transportation of troops at 
a moment's notice. The navy was strength- 
ened in corresponding fashion. Austria- 
Himgary and Turkey, already under the 
guidance of the Germans according to the 
Middle-Em-ope and Berlin-to-Bagdad proj- 
ects, were making similar improvements. 



that she could conquer the earth nation by 
nation." 

4. The War in 1914 

While Germany was making all these 
preparations so openly, she declared that they 
were for defense only, and other Unprepared- 
nations did not make them- ness of the 
selves ready for the attack that Allies 
Germany was really planning. Perhaps 
France alone fully comprehended the situa- 



POPULATION 

50,000.000 100,000,000 150,000,000 



RUSSIA.... 

UNITED 

STATES-- 

GREAT 

BRITAIN - 

FRANCE... 

ITALY 

RUMANIA, 
BELGIUM.. 
PORTUGAL 
SERBIA..., 



GERMANY. 
AUSTRIA- 
HUNGARY- 
TURKEY... 
BULGARIA 



.174,099.600 
.102,000,000 

.45,370,530 

.39,601,509 
..35,597,784 
...7,600,000 
...7,600,000 
...6,000,000 
...4,550,000 






.67,812.000 
.51,340,378 
.3 1,000,000 
..5,000,000 



^^^ 



■^yy^y^y.^yy^yyyyy^y^^i'-iii^^yyy^ 



— ^j%%^ 



^i-j^'^^^g^^a^i^^^aai^^ 



In 1914 the Germans felt that their prepa- 
ration was complete. 

In an address delivered in Chicago, Sep- 
tember 14, 1917, Elihu Root, former United 
States Senator from New York, summed up 
the case as follows : 

" It now appears beyond the possibility 
of doubt that this war was made by Ger- 
many, pursuing a long and settled purpose. 
For many years she had been preparing to 
do exactly what she has done, with a thorough- 
ness, a perfection of plans, and a vastness of 
provision in men, mimitions, and supplies 
never before equaled or approached in human 
history. She brought the war on when she 
chose, because she chose, in the belief 



tion. Yet her population (Fig. 7) and 
resoiu-ces were much inferior to those of 
Germany. Likewise Russia's army, though 
large (Fig. 6), was inferior to Germany's 
army in training, equipment, and effective- 
ness. All of the nations now allied hoped 
still that war might be avoided. Conse- 
quently they did not prepare for war as 
completely as Germany did. 

Among the Great Powers of Europe that 
entered the war immediately, England had 
by far the smallest army and it was scat- 
tered widely over the earth. She had small 
supplies of munitions and few factories for 
making them. Her people had not believed 
that Germany would provoke a war. But 



10 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



she did have the advantage of a great navy. 
In Fig. 8 compare the warship tonnage of 
the several powers. England's navy has 
been her salvation. 

The event that immediately led to the 
war occurred in Austria near the Serbian 
How the border. On June 28, 1914, the 

war began Iieir to the throne of Austria- 

Hungary, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, 
and his wife, were assassinated bv Serbian 



" Across the path of this railway to Bagdad 
lay Serbia — an independent country whose 
sovereign alone among those of southwestern 
Em-ope had no marriage connection with 
Berlin, a Serbia that looked toward Russia. 
That is why Europe was nearly driven into 
war in 1913 ; that is why Germany stood 
so determinedly behind Austria's demands 
in 1914 and forced war. She must have 
her ' corridor ' to the southeast ; she must 



WARSHIP TONNAGE JANUARY 1914 

500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2:000,000 



UNITED 

STATES - 

FRANCE. 

RUSSIA.. 

ITALY.... 

JAPAN.. 



GERMANY. 
AUSTRIA- 
HUNGARY 
TURKEY.. .- 



.2,200,000 

._ 774,353 
... 700,000 
_.. 270,861 
. . 285,460 
...519,640 



^^^^^:' 



.951,713 
.221,526 
..30,000 



■^'iiiii<^^*ih^iii^^^iiii^^ 




''^:iiiiii^^iiiiiiiiii^:iiiii^^ 



^ 



sympathizers. Bad feeling already existed 
between Austria and Serbia, and this deed 
naturally made it worse. 

One reason for the bad feeling was that 
Serbia was hostile to the Middle-Europe 
plan, and was, therefore, opposed to the 
Berlin-to-Bagdad railway, which would have 
to pass through its territory (Fig. 5). That 
was an unpardonable offense against Ger- 
many and her allies. 

Feeling that they were fully ready for 
war, the Central Powers now saw the excuse 
for beginning it. As punishment for the 
murder of the Archduke, Austria, with the 
full support of Germany, made demands on 
Serbia that were altogether too humiliating 
for acceptance. Then, when Serbia rejected 
them, war was declared. 

The responsibility of Germany in the 
whole matter is stated l)y President Wilson, 
in his Flag Day Address of 1917, in the 
following words : 



have political domination all along the route 

of the great economic empire she planned." 

The first great object of the Central Powers 

was to conquer France, and they hoped to 

accomplish that feat before j, ^^ . 

Russia, on their east, could the west 

strike an effective blow. 

I. Reasons for 
In order to tlo this they must entering 

capture Paris. The shortest ^™°." i^°^&^ 

. T-, • Belgium 

distance from Germany to Pans 

is only 170 miles, west from Metz (Fig. 11). 

But whether one approaches Paris from the 

east or northeast, the route is difficult on 

account of the rough surface. This map 

shows a series of hills running in a general 

northern and southern direction between the 

Paris basin and the German frontier. On 

the side toward Paris these hills have long, 

gentle slopes, but on the eastern side they 

have steep slopes that are hard to climb. 

The rivers run between these ranges of hills 

and in some places cut their M'ay through 



12 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



them. If one followed their courses, one 
could find a comjjaratively easy road. But 
their vallej's are narrow, with steep sides in 
some places, and these can be easily defended 
against a powerful enemy. 

There is only one route that is compara- 
tively level land all the way, and that route 
leads through Belgium and then down south- 
west near the coast toward Paris. This is 
the route that the Teutons chose. It is 



only to sa\e time, but also U) enrich them- 
selves greatly while taking from their enemies 
the means of carrying on the war. For these 
reasons their choice must have seemed to 
them a masterly one. 

There were most vital reasons, however, 
against this selection. Germany ^ Reasons 
had pledged herself by solemn against entering 
agreement to respect the neu- ^ ' *' '°"'* 
trality of Belgium, and if there w as any sense 




FiQ. 10. — • French troopa on the way to the front 



Underwood and VnHertDood 



longer than any other, being 250 miles, but 
it is the easiest way on accoimt of the level 
ground over which it passes. 

There is another reason that no doubt 
influenced this choice. Belgium is a re- 
markably fertile country; also, southern 
Belgium and northern France are, together, 
one of the richest mining and manufacturing 
regions in the world. France obtains from 
this section nine-tenths of her iron ore, as 
well as half of all her coal. ]\Iuch more 
than one-half of all her iron and steel fac- 
tories are located here. In choosing this 
route, therefore, the Teutons could hope not 



of honor in her she would keep this pledge. 
Also England had bound herself to protect 
the neutrality of Belgiimi ; so it was likely 
that she would declare war against the Teu- 
tons if they crossed the Belgian frontier. 
But honor counted little with the Germans 
when such advantages were involved, and 
England's army was so small that the war 
might be finished before it could be made to 
count. So Belgium had to suffer. 

This invasion of Belgium by Germany, 
contrary to her own pledge, was an act of 
tremendous significance for all the nations 
of the earth, particularly for the small ones. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



13 




Fig. 11. — The approaches to Paris from the east and northeast. 



It was really a declaration that the small 
nation must expect to suffer in the future. 
3. Importance ^ight, not Right, was to rulc ; 
of Germany's and any people that lacked 
""^^ the physical force to protect 

itself against attack might expect to be 
subdued and governed by stronger nations. 
Never was a more direct blow struck against 
liberty. 

The Germans had planned to march a 
certain distance each day, and allowed them- 
selves six days to get past Belgium. They 
did not expect the Belgians to have the cour- 
age to try to stop them. 

At the start, though, there was a delay. 
When the army appeared at the frontier of 
the little country, the German commander 



informed its people that it was necessary 
for his army to cross, but that the Belgians 
would not be injured if they did not resist, 
and that they would be paid in gold for any 
damage that might be done. 

To his astonishment they refused. This 
was their reply : " The Belgian government, 
if they were to accept the proposals submitted 
to them, would sacrifice the honor of the 
nation and betray their duty toward Europe." 
King Albert did not hesitate. He threw his 
small army across the German path, even 
though it meant destruction for both army 
and people, and he delayed their advance 
ten full days. The Germans were furious 
and inflicted on Belgium awful punishment. 

The ten days, however, saved France. It 



14 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



gave the French time to assemble their 
armies and the EngHsh time to send a small 
4. Importance ^orce to their aid. Also, this 
of Belgium's act of the Belgians aroused the 
resistance admiration of the world; it 

was as noble as the conduct of the Ger- 
mans was ignoble, and it drew to them 




Fig. 12. — British troops entrenched on tlie western front 



they finally had to take at the end of the 
year's fighting is also shown in Fig. 11. 
This was one of the great bat- 5. The result 
ties of history. For the time of the campaign 
being, at least, it decided that France should 
remain French and not become Prussian. 
Germany did not succeed in crushing 
France before Russia could 
act. On the The war in 
contrary, Rus- the east 
sia assembled a great army 
and invaded East Prussia. 
In order to meet this at- 
tack Germany was compelled 
to withdraw some of her 
forces from France. This 
helped to check the Germans 
on the Marne. Russia also 
invaded Austria, and thus 
she kept the Teutons ex- 
ceedingly busy on the eastern 
front. Figure 13 shows the 
lines held in the east toward 
the end of 1914. 

The superiority of the 
British navy (Fig. 8) was im- 
mediately made The war upon 
to count. By the seas 
the end of the year the 
German fleets, war and mer- 
chant, were driven from the 
seas. WTien it is recalled 



the support of fair-minded people every- 
where for the awfid years that have 
followed. 

The Germans soon left Belgium behind 
and came within sight of Paris. Figure 11 
shows the line that they held when nearest 
to the city. Estimate the distance. The 
French government had left the capital, on 
account of the imminent danger, and moved 
to Bordeaux. It looked as though the city 
would have to fall. 

But the furious battle of the Marne 
turned the invaders back, and the line that 



that three fourths of the 
earth's surface is water, the importance of 
this advantage begins to be apparent. All 
this area was at the disposal of the British 
for transporting supplies, as well as troops 
from her colonies ; at the same time it was 
closed to Germany. 

5. The War in 1916 

The campaign of 1914 had proved en- 
couraging to the Allies on the Discourage- 
whole; but there were many mentstothe 
reasons for discouragement ^^®® 
during the year 1915. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



15 



Several attempts were made to drive 
the Germans from their position in the 
I. On the west, but without much suc- 

western front cess. The line of battle re- 
mained tliroughout the year much the same 
as shown in Fig. 11. 

In the east the Russians were badly de- 
feated. Figiu-e 13 



2. On the 
eastern front 




shows 
how 
far into German 
and Austrian ter- 
ritory they had 
advanced in 1914. 
But this year they 
were driven out of 
this conquered ter- 
ritory and lost ex- 
tensive areas of 
their own. All 
Poland was taken 
from them, includ- 
ing the great cities 
of Warsaw and 
Lodz, and they lost 
over 2,000,000 men 
in captured, killed, 
and wounded. 
Figure 15 marks 
the line of battle 
in the closing days 
of the year. 

Turkey (p. 40) 
had joined the 
Central Powers in 
1914, but the Fic 

Balkan States, lying 

3 Advance of between Turkey and Austria, 
had not, with the exception of 
Serbia, declared in favor of 
either side. Under those conditions, and 
with Serbia one of the Allies, both the Middle- 
Europe project and that for the Berlin-to- 
Bagdad railway were blocked. 

In order to check them still further, the 
Allies planned an expedition against the 



the Berlin-to 
Bagdad plan 



Dardanelles, with the object of getting 
possession of this outlet from the Black 
Sea and capturing Constantinople. In spite 
of great efforts it resulted only in failure 
and enormous losses of men. 

It had other bad effects. Bulgaria had 
hesitated to ally herself with either party; 
but now she felt it 
safe to join the 
Teutons. Then the 
Austro- Germans 
and Bulgarians to- 
gether overran 
Serbia and crushed 
that nation. These 
events brought the 
Middle-Europe 
plan to much 
nearer realization, 
and paved the way 
for further devel- 
opment of the great 
Bagdad railway. 
The Central Pow- 
ers had good reason 
to feel encouraged. 
Even in war, 
horrible as it is, 
there are many 
rules German 
to be barbarities 
followed to which 
all the leading 
governments have 
agreed. These 
13' rules were sup- 

posed to have force 
of law for the various nations and to limit 
its evils in important ways. 

While Germany had fully agreed to these 
laws she has shown no more respect for 
them than she showed for her agreement 
in regard to Belgium. Here are only a few 
of the things she has done in violation of 
international law: she has repeatedly 
massacred men, women, and children, ap- 



16 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



parently with the main object of making 
herself feared ; she has robbed conquered 
territory of food, raw materials for manu- 
factures, tools, machinery, and anything 




Brmsh Offlcuu Photo^ajiti 
Fig. 14. — One of the giant dirigibles guarding the British coast. 



else she could lay her hands on, that, after re- 
moval to her own land, might be of value 
to her own people ; what she could not hope 
to use she has wantonly destroyed, simply 
in order to leave citizens in conquered 
territory as destitute as possible. For ex- 
ample, to that end she has even killed or- 
chard after orchard of fruit trees and has set 
fire to houses and farm implements. Tens 
of thousands of civilians in Belgium, Poland, 
and elsewhere have been transported to 
Teuton lands to work as slaves ; men, women, 
and children have been placed in front of the 
firing line in order to protect the Teuton 
soldiers ; poison gas and liquid fire have been 
introduced. Probably every international 
law to which (iermany had agreed has been 
broken by her repeatedly. It is well for us 
to know such facts in order that we may 
understand the kind of enemy we are fighting. 



In 1915 there occurred some events that 
brought much encouragement. One was the 
entrance of Italv on the side of 

the Allies. In Figs. 6, 7, and 8 ^^^^'^^^ ^^^ 
. ° encourage- 

notice her popula- ment among 
tion as compared the Allies 
with that of other i. Entry of 
coimtries ; also the ^'7^°° ^'"^^ °' 
size of her army 
and her warship tonnage. The 
fact that she produces very little 
coal and iron greatly reduces 
her strength ; but in spite of 
that fact she has brought very 
valuable help. 

As soon as she lost all control 
of the seas, Germany had to 
leave her colonies , ^^^ „f 
to their fate. One colonies by 
of the first to be ^"""""^ 
taken was Kiau-Chau (Fig. l),by 
Japan. Germany had highly 
valued this colony. Other islands 
in the Pacific were soon lost. By 
the end of 1915 all the four large 
German colonies in Africa had 
been invaded and most of their territory con- 
quered (Fig. 1). Germany has no colonies now. 
When England declared war, she naturally 
expected the support of all her English colo- 
nies. This support was of very ^ Loyalty of 
great importance, for these British coio- 
colonies constitute a large part "^^ 
of the British Empire. The " Mother 
Country," called the " United Kingdom of 
Great Britain and Ireland," includes Eng- 
land, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. It has 
an area all together of only about 120,000 
square miles, which is less than one half that 
of Texas ; its population is more than 
45,000,000, which is over ten times that of 
Texas. Compared with the United States 
the United Kingdom is a small country, both 
in size and population (Fig. 7). How does it 
compare with Germany? 
When the colonies are added, however, the 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



17 



Empire is enormous. On Fig. 1 note how 
many parts of the earth belong to the British 
Empire. Its possessions are found in every 
continent and border every ocean. In North 

(1) Extent of America they are Canada and 
the colonies Newfoundland. Name the 
most important parts of Asia that are British 
possessions; of Africa. What other 
important regions are British? Note 
the population of India ; of Canada ; of 
Australia (main text, pp. 411, 424, 425). 
All these possessions together increase 
the area under English control more 
than 12,000,000 square miles, and the 
population 450,000,000. It is evident 
that it made a very great difference to 
the British whether these dependencies 
supported them strongly in the conduct 
of the war or whether they refused 
support. 

Germany did not believe that Eng- 
land's colonies would respond vigor- 
,„, „ , ously to the call from the 

(2) Germany s lir ., r^ . , , 

expectation in Mother L ountry ; and she 
regard to their ^^d Strong reasons for this 

loyalty i t .. 

belief. 

Undoubtedly the Germans argued 
that if these possessions belonged to 
Germany, manj' of them would break 
away from German control at the first 
opportunity. Schleswig-Holstein has 
been a problem to the German govern- 
ment ever since its annexation ; and 
Alsace-Lorraine has caused far more 
trouble. There has probably never 
been a time since 1870 when the great 
majority of the inhabitants of Alsace- 
Lorraine would not have returned to French 
control, if they had had a chance to vote on 
the question. Germany has shown a re- 
markable tendency to arouse the hatred of 
the foreign peoples whom she has governed, 
and of course she would not admit that 
England possessed any more skill than she 
herself had shown in governing colonies. 

The long distance of many of the dependen- 



cies from England made it especially difficult 
for them to keep in close touch with the 
Mother Country. Difference in language 
and customs in many cases would cause her 
influence to be felt still less. In such cir- 
cumstances it seemed hardly probable that 
a war that she declared would lead them 



ESSTERJ BATTIE FROST 
1915 




to share fully with her in hardship and 
danger. 

Aside from such reasons for disloyalty, Ger- 
many proposed to supply one herself. She 
set to work, even before the war, to stir up 
discontent among many of the colonies. 
Furnished with large sums of money, men 
were sent who gave their best efforts toward 
stirring up in the colonies ill feeling toward 



18 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



the English and aiding any movements that 
might lead to disloyalty and rebellion. This 
seems an easy task, too, when one remembers 
that in any country there are many persons 
who grumble against the government. The 
fact that not many years ago England had 
been at war with some of her colonists, 
especially those in South Africa, gave hope of 
great success in this attempt. Germans have 
been employed to stir up trouble in this man- 
ner in probably every one of the British colo- 
nies of importance. The ambition was not 
merely to prevent aid to the British but to 
compel the British to consume much of their 
strength in quelling rebellion among their colo- 
nies. Indeed, by that means they hoped that 
England would be so fully occupied that she 
would have little energy left for fighting the 
Germans. 

To the astonishment of the Germans their 
plan did not work. The British Empire did 
,„, „, . not fall apart. Of the scores and 

sponse to the scorcs of colonics, big and little, 
call of the ^q^ Qj^g ]jj^g declared its inde- 

Mother Country , 

pendence. On the contrary, 
their loyalty has astonished the world. Not 
only have they remained friendly ; they have 
joined actively in the prosecution of the war, 
furnishing men, money, and supplies to the 
fullest extent possible. The war against 
Turkey has been very greatly aided by sol- 
diers from India. Canada has sent to the 
battle fields about a half million men — an 
undertaking greater than it would be for us 
to send six millions. Australia and New Zea- 
land have done correspondingly well. Even 
the small islands have been eager to do their 
bit. Early in 1916 Jamaica, with a popula- 
tion of less than one million, sent her second 
ship load, consisting of about eleven hundred 
men. 

No one had known before how firmly the 
many parts of the British Empire were put 
together. No one had known whether, at 
a great crisis, the Empire would crumble, 
each division of people to form an independ- 



ent nation ; or whether its parts would unite 
more closely than ever to form one more 
powerful nation. The response of the colo- 
nies has answered this question. 

No doubt one reason for this result was the 
sense of danger that the dependencies felt 
when Germany declared that (4) Reasons for 
Might rather than Right should '^^ '"J'""" 
rule the world. Independent small nations 
in that case had little chance ; they must allj' 
themselves with others in order to be pro- 
tected. This danger, then, tended to imite 
them and to draw them to the more powerful 
Mother Country. 

Yet they would hardly have responded so 
willingly to the call, had they not in past years 
been treated with respect by the United 
Kingdom ; had they not been given freedom 
to a large extent ; and had they not been well 
protected as British subjects when protection 
was needed. The occasion was a test of the 
kind of government Britain had established 
over her colonies ; and — to the disgust of 
Germany — she stood the test astonishingly 
well. 

The greatness of the cause must have been 
a third reason for this response. The war at 
first may have seemed remote to some of the 
colonies, but they soon saw that Germany 
was threatening the existence of democracy 
throughout the world. The only hope that 
men will ever enjoy the right to govern them- 
selves in peace lies in the destruction of mili- 
tarism. The war, therefore, concerned them 
directly and they must share in the struggle. 

The exhibition of loyalty by the British 
colonies was one of the especially encouraging 
facts in the midst of the many discourage- 
ments of the year 1915. 

6. The War in 1916 

In the west two great battles were fought : 
Verdun and the Soinme, each lasting several 
months and resulting in defeat to the Ger- 
mans with enormous losses of men. The 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



19 



line, however, as drawn in Fig. 11, was 
not greatly changed. The Russians and 
Events on the Italians were also successful in 
east and west opposing the Austrians. The 
^°°*^ - balance of the fighting was, 
therefore, favorable to the Allies. 

Roumania, how- 
ever, who 



ter defend. Compare the line in Fig. 17 
with that in Fig. 11. In this region the 
Allies in heavy battles won other On the west- 
victories that were of much ern front 
importance. Yet no decisive results were 
reached on this front during the year. 



had en- 
tered 
the war 
on the 
side of 
the Al- 
was conquered. 



Further prog- 
ress of the 
Middle- 
Europe and 
Bagdad Rail- 
way plans 

lie 



Fig. 16. — British armored 



Her rich wheat fields 
and oil wells were 
taken. She made 
the third Balkan 
State that had been 
added to Teuton 
territory since the 
war began. This 
addition brought the 
Middle-Europe plan 
almost to full reali- 
zation. Greece alone 
remained neutral. 
The war was bring- 
ing its reward. 

Events in Turkey 
also advanced the railway project. A con- 
siderable British force from India had 
marched up the Tigris River toward Bagdad 
(Fig. 5), winning some victories on the way. 
But they were surrounded by the Turks and 
finally compelled to siurender. The force 
that was lost consisted of 1.3,000 men. The 
main part of the railroad that remained to 
be built was in this region, and this victory 
brought the possibility of its completion 
much nearer. 

7. The War in 1917 

The Germans in France, early in the year, 
retreated a considerable distance along a fifty- 
mile front to positions that they could bet- 




BTUIsh OBMal PhotomapK 
'tank" passing through a burning village on the way to the 
front in France. 



Russia sprang a surprise on the world in 
1917, a surprise whose results for good and 
evil are thus far vast but un- On the Rus- 
certain. First came the revolu- sian front 
tlon early in the year, the Czar abdicat- 
ing in March and the government being 
taken over by a moderately liberal party. 
Finally a very radical party, called the Bol- 
sheviki, obtained control. They ignored all 
obligation to the Allies, completely under- 
mined army discipline, and made a separate 
peace with Germany. Although up to 
1917 Russia had fought hard and suffered 
fearfully on the side of the Allies, she now 
withdrew from the war. From this year 
on, therefore, the line of battle in this part 



20 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 




Fio. 17. 



of the east, as indicated in Fig. 15, entirely 
disappeared. This withdrawal was a most 
severe blow to the Allies, for the Germans 
began not only to overrun Russian territory 
at will, but also to transport their troops that 
were not needed in this region to other battle 
lines. 

This act of Russia had a fearful effect in 
On the Italian northern Italy. On that line 
fr°°* enormous Austrian forces, many 

of them brought from Russia, were as- 



sembled and hurled against Italy. That 
country suffered terrible losses and the 
work she had accomplished during the pre- 
ceding two years was undone. 

During 1917 the Allies more than re- 
trieved their recent losses in Checks to 
the Tigris valley. Early in the ^^ Middle- 
year Bagdad was captured b\- ^;^%l^^ 
the British and most of Pales- Railway 
tine also was taken from the projects 
Turks. Jerusalem was surrendered to the 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



21 



British early in December of this year. 
It began to look now as though the Teutons 
would never extend their railroad to Bagdad 
and the Persian Gulf, and without the ad- 
dition of this section the whole scheme lost 
its value. 

At the same time a blow was struck against 
the Middle-Europe plan. The one remaining 
neutral power among the 
Balkan States was 
Greece. Its ruler, King 
Constantine, was vio- 
lently pro-German, while 
a majority of the Greeks 
favored the Allies. Dur- 
ing thisyear Constantine 
was deposed and Greece 
joined the Allies (p. 40). 

This was surely a deep 
disappointment to the 
Teutons. The location 
of Greece as an Allied 
power, so close to the 
Serbians, who were still 
hostile to the Teutons 
even though conquered, 
and so near to the rail- 
way, might cause strong 
opposition to both proj- 
ects at any time. 

This was the year in 
which the submarine 
reached its greatest de- 
structiveness 



The civilized world gasped at such frightful- 
ness; but it was believed by the Germans 
to be a sure means of winning the war, 
and that was what they sought. Interna- 
tional law did not count with them. 

The German people were assured by their 
leaders that such use of the submarine would 
bring the English to their knees in a few 




Fig. 18. — A convoy of ships c 



© Underwood and Underwood 
food and supplies to the Allies. 



On the seas 



Up to the first 
of this year it had been active 
and, together with mines, had destroyed 
nearly 4,000,000 tons of merchant shipping. 
This was only a small part of the entire 
British merchant marine. 

But up to this time a great many vessels 
had been spared from attack. Now on Feb- 
ruary 1, 1917, the plan of unlimited cruelty was 
adopted ; the use of the submarine was freed 
from restrictions and any vessels were attacked 
and sunk without warning, no matter what 
nation they represented or who was on them. 



months. The latter had to receive much of 
their food, ammunition, and other supplies 
from abroad, and Germany thought that 
the submarine would cut off all such aid. 
With England out of the war, it would 
soon end. 

From January to June they sank 3,600,000 
tons of shipping. It was a critical period for 
the Allies. But means for protection against 
the submarine were developed and its de- 
structiveness began to decline. England 
was not starved out and the crisis was past. 
The policy of frightfulness, however, had 




22 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



23 



unfavorable consequences for the Germans, 
which they, no doubt, appreciate now far 
more than they did then. 

8. Additions to the Allied Nations 

During 1917 eight new countries, repre- 
senting all parts of the earth, entered 
New enemies the war against Germany, 
to the Teutons while not a single new power 
joined the Teutons. On page 40 there is a 



It meant that if took all this time for 
these nations to grasp the situation ; to 
comprehend the objects of the Teutons ; and 
to realize the methods they were adopting 
in pursuit of these objects. 

They had been astounded at the absence 
of all sense of honor on the part of Germany 
when she invaded Belgium and declared 
her contract to respect its neutrality only 
a " scrap of paper." They had been horrified 
at her brutality toward the Belgians and 




p iu western France wliore (tfficers are trained in modern warfare. 



list of these powers with the dates on which 
war was declared. Note these dates. (In 
Fig. 19 note their names and locations. 
How many continents do they represent ?) 

Originally it was generally expected that 
the war would last only a few months. 
Their reasons Now after two and one half 
for entering years of awful fighting, these 
the war onlookers determined to assist 

in blocking the Teutons, no matter how 
fearful the sacrifices might be. ^Vhy did 
they take such risk, and all on one side? 
What did it mean? 



other conquered peoples. They had been 
shocked at her selfishness and greed in 
robbing conquered territory. When the 
Lusitania was simk, destroying 1198 lives, 
114 of them American, they saw that she 
was inconceivably cruel. When, therefore, 
her plots and conspiracies began to be un- 
covered in all parts of the world, they realized 
that she was wholly unworthy of trust. 
The significance of Pan-Germanism had 
now been made clear; and it menaced the 
liberties of the world. It was, therefore, the 
duty of all nations to combine to put it down 



24 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



9. The United States in the War 

The declaration of war by the United States 
meant a great addition to the forces of the 

^ Allies. Our population is over 
Our resources , •, » /~, 

compared with 100,000,000, while that or Ger- 

thoseofGer- niany is less than 70,000,000. 

many j^^ ^^^^ ^,g ^^^ ^^^ superior to 

Germany, since we have over 3,000,000 square 
miles, while she has only 210,000, which is 




'('■ riiderirtfoil and Vndencood 
21. — Distributing equipment at the OfEcers' Training Camp, Plattsburg, N. Y. 



much less than that of Texas alone. In raw 
materials, manufactures, and wealth our su- 
periority over Germany is also striking. We 
produce nearly twice as much coal and iron as 
Germany, we manufacture more than twice 
as many goods and our total wealth is about 
three times hers. 

In spite of these facts Germany showed con- 
Why Ger- tempt for us as a possible en- 
many did not emy. Why ? 
^^^^ "^ First of all, because as a 

people we are remarkably devoted to 



peace. At the time we declared war our 
standing army was composed of only about 
100,000 men (see Fig. 6), a very small 
number when compared with the 866,000 in 
the German standing army. Beyond this 
number, we had very few trained soldiers, 
while every able-bodied man in Germany had 
received extensive training. On the other 
hand, peace societies were numerous and ac- 
tive throughout the land, urging the avoid- 
ance of all war, 
and some influen- 
tial persons had 
reached the point 
where they op- 
posed allowing 
children even to 
play with tin sol- 
diers because it 
directed their 
thoughts too 
much to fighting. 
As a nation we 
knew that we 
would provoke no 
war; and up to 
that time we were 
convinced that no 
one was likely to 
attack us. In 
short, we cher- 
ished the hope 
and expectation 
that all war would 
be avoided by us in the future. 

This condition made us harmless in the 
eyes of the Germans. Also, they saw that 
even if we were awakened from our dreams 
about peace, it would be a long time before 
we could be ready to fight. We lacked not 
only soldiers, but oSicers as well ; also an 
adeciuate supply of munitions ; indeed, we 
were without the thousand and one things 
that Germany had been carefully provid- 
ing during the last fifty years. No one 
understood better than she what a mighty 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



25 



task it would be 
for us to get 
ready to fight. 

Even if we 
ever finally pre- 
pared ourselves, 
the field for fight- 
ing was at least 
3000 miles away, 
and we lacked 
the ships for 
transporting our 
men and their 
supplies. More 
than that, if by 
some miracle 
these were pro- 
vided, the subma- 
rine would pre- 
vent their arriving on the other side. When all 
these points are considered, certainly the Ger- 
mans had much reason for feeling safe from us. 





© Underwood and Underwood 
Fio. 23. — One view of the steel works at Ensley, just outside of Birmingham, 
Alabama, where now munitions of war are made. 



Fig. 22. — Building "Liberty Ships" on Puget Sound. 



Geography constantly deals with the seven 
great occupations of men; namely, agricul- 
ture, fishing, lumbering, mining, qut new 
manufac- occupation 
t u r i n g ^°^ '*^ extent 
transportation, and 
trade. Our declaration 
of war on April 6, 1917, 
added another, that of 
carrying on war. This 
has gradually become 
the greatest of the eight, 
and one that to a large 
degree controls all the 
others. That is a very 
remarkable fact, when it 
is remembered that only 
a few years ago we com- 
monly believed that we 
could avoid war. It 
shows how quickly and 
completely a great na- 
tion can change. 

The great extent of 
this occupation is sug- 
gested by a very few 
facts. In the latter part 



26 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 




'^^i^Sr 



!l 

AMP Bo" 



iMt,^ 



UnLITARY .MAP 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES 

6 60 100 200 300 400 

Army Training Camps ^9 

Forts and other Army establiehmenta.^.-k 
Army Increment Camps * 

Naval establishments x 

Air Service Fields and Stations A 



^M 




.^:^ 



of the summer of 1918 we had over 3,000,000 
men in France or in training at home. It has 
been often stated that it takes seven or eight 



Fio. 24. — Military map 

workers at home to keep one soldier in the 
field — so many kinds of work are necessary ; 
such, for example, as farming, mining, manu- 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



27 




of the United States. 



factiire of clothing, munitions, ships, etc., to 
meet all military needs. If that statement is 
correct, it would mean that these 3,000,000 



are keeping not less than 20,000,000 others 
fully employed. The center for this great 
business is our capital, Washington, and prob- 



28 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



ably many more than 100,000 clerks and other 
government employees have been called there 
since the war began. The city has accord- 
ingly increased tremendously in population. 



possible upon different communities. It was 
a question whether such a plan would be 
acceptable to the people, and during the de- 
bate in Congress signs were not lacking that 




Fig. 25. — Training soldiers at Camp Upton, Yaphank, Long Island 



Undcriivod and Undt-ruvod 

Y. 



Other government work connected with the 
war is carried on in hundreds of places 
throughout the country. 

The conduct of war calls for undertakings 
of many kinds, each of which may be a great 
Our prepara- business in itself. One of these 
tion of an was the preparation of an 

"'^y army. Our first step was to call 

for volunteer soldiers, and within a few 
months these troops, together with those that 
we already had, made an army of a million 
men. Many of these were already " well 
trained for war. 

Meanwhile it was clear, however, that sev- 
eral millions would be needed if we took the 
part in the war that belonged to us ; also that 
it would not do to wait for voluntary enlist- 
ments. The President proposed to raise the 
necessary men by " selective draft " or con- 
scription. By that means the burden of the 
fighting would be distributed as equally as 



German influence was at work to defeat the 
plan. 

Yet the bill became a law, and all men 
between the ages of twenty-one and thirty- 
one were required to enroll for service on a 
given date. Ten million young men re- 
sponded. Since all these were not needed at 
once, it was decided to determine by lot the 
order in which the men should be called. 
The men were also divided into classes ac- 
cording to conditions that deserved con- 
sideration in accepting or exempting them. 
Thus a vast army has been drafted. 

The training of so many soldiers was a 
great problem. Nearly all of them were 
without military experience, having come 
directly from farm, factory, and office. They 
were assigned to camps or cantonments in 
manv parts of the country, as shown in 
Fig. 24. 

Each cantonment is really a new city de- 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



29 



signed to be the tem- 
porary home of 
about 40,000 men in 
training. It is 
equipped with most 
of the conveniences 
of any city, having, 
for example, a water 
system, sewage sys- 
tem, electric lights, 
telephone, fire de- 
partment, and even 
paved streets. As 
shown on the map, 
sixteen of these can- 
tonments were established during the sum- 
mer of 1917 for the drafted men. INIany 
other cantonments were built for the men 
who belonged to the National Guard, which 
had been taken into the service before the 
conscription act was passed. Thousands 
upon thousands of engineers, carpenters, 
plumbers, and other workers, besides vast 
quantities of lumber and other materials. 




© Undeneood and Vnderwooa 

- View of an army cantonment on the historic field of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 



were necessary for all this construction in so 
short a time. 

Our navy was in far better condition for a 
great war than our army. In Fig. 8 note 
how it ranked among the navies Development 
of the Great Powers. of our navy 

At the time of our entrance into the war 
the Allied navies of Great Britain, France, 
Italy, and Japan were masters on the ocean. 
German warships, mer- 
chant vessels, and raiders 
liad been driven from it. 
But the German sub- 
marine, which had done 
much damage since the 
beginning of the war, 
had been declared by 
the German go\'ernment 
on January 31, 1917, to 
be free from all restric- 
tions, and it was proving 
fearfully destructive to 
Allied vessels. At that 
time the Germans gen- 
erally relied upon it to 
bring victory. 

It was our task, there- 
fore, to construct more 
war vessels, as many as 
we possibly could ; and 
to increase very greatly 




FiQ. 27. — A United States Warship using a smoke screen in the "danger zone." 



30 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 




Fio. 28. — A sham battle at Pelha 



© Underwood and Uiiderwood 
Bay Naval Training camp, Pelham Bay, N. Y. 



these purposes ; 
and, since many 
ships were being 
sunk every week 
by submarines, 
a still greater 
number would 
have to be built 
in order to meet 
this loss. 

Such vessels 
as these, used 
for transporta- 
tion of goods in 
time of peace, 
are called " mer- 
chant marine." 
At the time war 
was declared bv 



Building of 
army trans- 
ports and a 
merchant 
marine 



us our merchant marine on the ocean was 
small. While we had had a great foreign 
trade, nine tenths of our imports and ex- 
ports had been carried in ships owned by 
foreign countries. That was not all. We 
lacked the equipment, such as the shipyards, 
machinery, and trained workmen, necessary 
for building a great number of ships. Also, 



the number of naval officers and men. This 
task, like that of preparing a vast army, has 
been accomplished with remarkable success. 
The purpose of the navy is to destroy the 
enemy submarines and to afford protection 

in other ways. In addition to 

war vessels it was seen that we 

would need a vast number of 

other ships 

for trans- 
portation of all sorts of 
things to Europe. Sev- 
eral million soldiers 
would need to be taken 
over; food for them 
would have to be sup- 
plied by us, too ; also 
clothing, ammunition, 
horses, engines, anfl hiui- 
dreds of other articles. 
In addition great quan- 
tities of food would need 
to be sent to our Allies, 
since they could not 
meet all their own wants. 
Thousands of vessels 

would be required for Fiq. 29. — Launching a steel" Liberty ship," shipbuilding yards, Mobile, Alabama. 




THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



31 



ships like great buildings can be built only 
very slowly. 

There were many difficulties to be over- 
come here ; and our progress at first was 
very slow. We could not hope to accomplish 
much during 1917 ; it took time to get the 
work started. In the spring of 1918, how- 
ever, results began to appeai-; dozens of 
vessels per month began to be launched, and 
then as many per week. In one day, July 4, 
almost one hundred were launched. The 
number continues to increase at an astonish- 



numbers. Millions of shoes, blankets, uni- 
forms, and hats have had to be made. To 
meet all such requirements hundreds of fac- 
tories have abandoned their regular work 
and have undertaken some of these things. 
Thus one sees how great a business war may 
be ; it can demand a large share of the efforts 
of the nation. 

High officials in Germany had promised 
their people that even if the Transporta- 
United States raised a great *'<>" °^ troops 
army and secured vessels for its transporta- 




'Od and L'tideruood 



it American-built airplane, used for bombing purposes. 



ing rate, and now the new vessels built by our 
Allies and ourselves each month far exceed 
those destroyed. By our astonishing energy 
the point of safety has been reached in ship- 
building. 

Upon the declaration of war our govern- 
ment at once began preparations for the ex- 
Manufacture tf"sive manufacture of muni- 
of munitions tions and other articles neces- 
and equip- sary in war. Rifles, machine 
guns, cannon, and powder had to 
be provided in enormous quantities. For this 
purpose manufacturing centers have been 
developed that are cities in themselves, given 
up wholly to this one kind of work. Air- 
planes, motor-trucks, armored cars, and trans- 
port wagons have had to be produced in vast 



tion, it would never be allowed to reach 
France. There was much doubt among us, 
too, about the success we should attain in 
transporting large numbers of men. The first 
troops were sent over in May, 1917. The 
number that followed from month to month 
was watched by us and our Allies — and 
probably by the Germans also — with great 
anxiety. There were transported in 



May, 1917 



1,718 January, 1918 46,776 



June 


12,261 


February 


48,027 


July 


12,988 


March 


83,811 


August 


18,323 


April 


117,212 


September 


32,523 


May 


244,345 


October 


38,259 


June 


276,372 


November 


23,016 


July 


over 300,000 


December 


48,840 


August 


about 250,000 



32 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



Many of the Germans have found it diffi- 
cult to believe these figures ; and even to us 
they are wonderful. Transportation of people 
on any such scale upon the ocean has never 
before been accomplished. 

It should be remembered, too, that danger 
in the form of submarines lurked about the 




© liadtl a 
Fig. 31. — American troops disembarking at a port in France. 



transporting vessels at every moment. Yet 
practically not a man has been lost on the 
way to Europe. By the aid of our allied 
navies and our own the vessels have been 
protected on all sides. The courage and en- 
durance of the men in these navies will be 
admired in all time to come. 

In order to provide space on shipboard for 
so many soldiers, especially in the recent 
months, the partitions of some of the vessels 
were removed and all possible space suited 
for bunks was utilized. The soldiers slept 
in shifts, each of three shifts occupying the 



bunks eight hours. It is plain that the beds 
were kept very busy. 

Upon declaration of war German vessels 
in American ports were seized and have 
been used in transport service. The larg- 
est transport of all is the Leviathan, formerly 
called the ]'aterland, which sailed between 
Hamburg and New 
York. 

Provision of food 
for our Allies, par- 
ticularly the English 
and French, is 
another undertaking 
that has called for 
much planning and 

labor Our provision 
on our of food for 
part, our Allies 
The British are a 
manufacturing na- 
tion, relying upon 
imports from other 
countries for much 
of their food. Be- 
fore the war the 
want of such imports 
for even a few weeks 
would have caused 
much suffering. 

Since the war be- 
gan, large areas that 
were formerly 
wooded and were parts of large estates and 
parks have been brought under cultivation. 
With this improvement it is said that the 
British can supply enough food to last them 
at least eight months in the year. To supply 
the other third from abroad, however, is no 
small task. 

Before the war France was less dependent 
on imports for food, although she required a 
good deal. The war, however, has devas- 
tated a part of the land ; and, partly because 
so many of the men were engaged in fighting 
and partly because the soil has lacked fertili- 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



33 



zation, her crops have been unusually small. 
In November, 1917, the United States Food 
Administration stated that the 1917 wheat 
crop of France, as compared with that of 1913, 
was short over one half or 176,000,000 
bushels; that the potato crop was short 
about one third or 165,000,000 bushels ; that 
the sugar-beet crop was short over two 
thirds or 148,000,000 bushels ; that the num- 
ber of cattle had decreased about one sixth or 
2,435,000 head; 
that the number 
of sheep had de- 
creased over one 
third or 5,535,- 
000 head; and 
that the number 
of hogs had de- 
creased two 
fifths or 2,825,- 
000 head. Both 
the British and 
the French had 
to receive great 
quantities of 
food from abroad 
or give up fight- 
ing. 

Heretofore 
these imports 
came largely from Canada, Australia, Argen- 
tina, and other agricultural countries. But 
ships were lacking for transportation of 
wheat all the way from Australia, and for 
several reasons many of these other countries 
have not been able to supply as much as 
usual. Thus it was that the United States 
was left to furnish it. 

Ourcountry as well as England ranks high in 
manufacturing ; in fact the United States is the 
greatest manufacturing nation. Yet we pro- 
duce most of our food and have always exported 
some. Now it became necessary for us to ex- 
port far more. Wheat and meat were the things 
most needed ; and under Mr. Hoover's lead we 
set to work to secure enough to save our Allies. 



This need furnished an opportunity for 
every one to be patriotic by doing his bit, 
particularly by helping to produce more of 
various kinds of food and to consume less of 
those that were needed abroad. 

The success of our efforts is as gratifying 
in this case as in the others already men- 
tioned. Our average monthly export of beef 
before the war was 1,066,000 pounds; and 
of pork 41,531,000 pounds. In June, 1918, we 




Fig. 32. — Women at Washington, D.C., learning to run a tractor in order to do farm work. 



sent abroad 92,173,000 pounds of beef and 
169,331,000 pounds of pork. Our export of 
wheat has likewise been tremendously in- 
creased. These are facts that have con- 
vinced our Allies — and the Germans, too — 
that we can be depended upon. 

Care of the wounded is another phase of 
war that has called for much planning and a 
great number of workers. In Care of the 
ancient wars little provision was wounded 
made for those who were injured. They died 
from lack of care if their wounds were serious. 
Now, unless a wound is very serious, the man 
is expected to recover and to return to the 
ranks. It is a matter of economy as well as 
humanity to attend to him. 



34 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



The soldier is not only cared for when he 
is wounded, but is kept in health if pos- 
sible. It is the business of doctors to be 
on the lookout for contagious diseases, to 
inspect drinking water, to watch over food, 



-^-f 




vgj Vnotrvjoud ana Underwood 
FiQ. 33. — Filing pledges to save food at the office of the Food Conservation Com- 
mission, New York. 



and to see that camps are in a sanitary con- 
dition. 

The Red Cross Society is organized under 
supervision of the government to do much of 
this work. It has many doctors and trained 
nurses. Under them are assistants who bring 
the wounded to hospitals for treatment. 
They help the men with their mail and aid 
them in communicating with parents and 
friends. In the regions ruined by war the 
Society helps to look after homeless people. 
It finds temporary shelter for widows and 



orphans and feeds refugees until they can 

care for themselves. 

Wars are now fought by citizen soldiers. 

If possible, they should come 

back home at the end of the ^^ comfort 

war better and entertain- 
than when ment of sol- 
they left. 

Their leisure time, there- 
fore, should be properly 
spent, and they should 
liave such comforts and 
entertainments as will 
keep them healthy 
minded and happy. A 
ij;reat force of workers is 
employed to assist the 
soldier in these respects. 
They lead in many kinds 
of games, they organize 
schools, exhibit motion 
pictures, furnish music 
and reading matter, and 
establish stores where 
needed articles can be 
Ijought at reasonable 
prices. The fighting 
])ower of men is much 
affected by such care, as 
well as their health and 
morals. Such organi- 
zations as the Young 
Men's Christian Associ- 
ation, the Knights of 

Columbus, the Salvation Army, and Jewish 

societies have assumed responsibility for this 

work. 

10. The War in 1918 

In the spring of 1918 the Germans aimed 
at the chaimel i)()rts, hoping by their capture 
to hin<ler Allied shipping, and German at- 
also to divide tiie .\llied armies, tacks on west- 
Their plan was to break through ^™ f'°°* 
to the coast by one tremendous blow ; or, 
if that failed, to bend the line by one attack 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



35 



after another so that it 
would finally give way. 

The first big drive 
began on March 21, and 
was not halted until the 
ninth day. It did not 
break through, but it 
forced the Allies a long 
distance toward the 
coast, as is shown in the 
line south of Arras in 
Fig. 34. Compare this 
part of the battle front 
with the corresponding 
part in Fig. 17. Those 
were most anxious days ! 
On March 27 the Eng- 
lish sent an appeal to us 
for reenforcements ; and 
it was plain that help 
must arrive soon, if it 
were not to be too late. 
How America responded is shown in the 
number of soldiers we shipped to France in 
the months following March (see p. 31). 

Other fearful drives followed in April, May, 





British Offlcial Phologmph 
Fig. 35. — American troops on their way to the trenches on the British front. 



and June, resulting, as indicated in Fig. 
34, in a deep advance of the Germans in 
the north near the Belgian border, and in 
a still deeper one in the south along the 
INIarne River in 
the direction of 
Paris. 

On July 15 the 
position of the 

German ex- 
mans pectations 
\- e I- V of victory 

in July 
sen- ■' ' 

ously threatened 
both Paris and 
the channel 
ports. On Fig. 
34 estimate the 
distance of the 
enemy from 
Paris. " They be- 
lieved that the 
English and 
French were ex- 



36 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 




© Committee on Public In/ormaiion 

36. — French children greeting American soldiers on their way to the 
front in France. 



liausted and discouraged, that the Allies 
had no large reserve army to fall back upon, 
and that the Americans would arrive too 
late to save the day. They exulted, there- 
fore, that victory was near at hand. 

However, the German forces were to be 
disappointed. One event that greatly helped 
to cause that disappuintmout occurred away 

back in March. 

Uptothattime 

the British 

armies had 
been commanded only by 
the British, the French 
only by the French, and 
so on with the Belgians, 
Italians, Portuguese, and 
Americans. No one man 
was in command of all tiie 
forces; consequently no 
one plan, employing all 
the Allied armies, could 
well be made or well be 
carried out. In unit.v of 
command, the (lermans Fig. 37. — Uer.' 



Appointment 
of Foch as 
Commander 
in Chief 



had enjoyed a great 
advantage over the 
Allies since the be- 
ginning of the war. 
But on INIarch 27, 
the day when the 
English appealed to 
America for reen- 
forcements. General 
Pershing (Fig. 37) 
offered all the United 
States forces for 
service wherever 
needed, and on 
March 29 the P>ench 
Marshal Ferdinand 
Foch (Fig. 38) was 
made Commander in 
Chief of all the Allied 
forces in France. It 
was now possible to 
make a single plan for the employment of 
armies even hundreds of miles apart and to 
execute it with promptness. How well 
General Foch performed that task began 
to be revealed the following July. 

On July 15 the Germans began their fifth 
terrific drive, which was to be the last and 
to bring victory. They were probably 
much more xhe turning 
exhausted point in the 
than they re- ''" 
alized, after their four 
preceding drives, for their 
shock troops, which had 
carried the brunt of the 
fighting and were com- 
posed of the very pick of 
their soldiers, had suffered 
terribly. Also the Allies 
still had much endurance, 
a reserve army at their 
back, and vastly more 
.\mericans in France than 
the Germans thought pos- 
ai John J. Pershing. siblc. But the Germans 




THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT ]VAR 



37 



attacked with such force 
that the Allies liad to 
give way. The blow was 
struck at the front nearest 
Paris (see Fig. 34) and 
drove the French back 
across the INIarne River. 
One reason for attacking 
at this point was that 
Americans were stationed 
on the soutii bank of the 
Marne to aid the French, 
and it was thought that 
they would be easily over- 
come. Figures 39 and 40 
show German ideas about 
our troops. Both of these 
cartoons appeared in Germany at that time. 
Figure 39 represents the Allies rejoicing 
over the aid in sight from America. Figure 
40 represents their supv- 
posed disappointment 
when the troops arrived. 

Now came the long- 
hoped-for turn in events, 
and our soldiers played a 
glorious part in bringing 
it about. After yielding 
some distance they coun- 
ter-attacked and with 
awful slaughter drove the 
Germans back to the 
river. Then on July 18 Foch began his 
advance that aimed to force the enemy out 
of France and Belgium. The Germans had 
begun to revise their opin- 
ion of American soldiers. 

The wisdom of placing 
one man in command of 
Foch's 'i" the armies 

method and now became 
its results apparent, for 
every move that was 
made was a part of a 
single vast plan. After 
each of their big drives 





Fig. 




the Germans had allowed 
themselves — and their 
enemies as well — a breath- 
ing spell, to recover and 
prepare for the next blow. 
But from July 18 to No- 
vember 11, the date of 
the armistice, assaults by 
the Allied troops hardly 
ceased for a day. The 
enemy tried desperately 
to defend himself ; but 
being given no time for 
rest, and being continually 
attacked at unexpected 
points, he became accus- 
tomed to defeat and re- 
treat. Figure 41 shows how nearly the 
Germans were driven out of France and 
Belgium in the next three and one half 
months. Observe how 
far they retreated from 
their farthest line of 
advance. 

On the Italian front, 
also, the tide had turned 
in favor of Fighting 
the Allies. A on the Italian 
great Aus- ^'^°°* 
trian drive had been 
ij'j. planned to crush Italy, 

while the British and 
French were kept too busy to give aid. 
This took place in May. At first success 
appeared to be with the Teutons. Then 
the Italians rallied, de- 
feated them, and drove 
them back. The Aus- 
trian leaders had prom- 
ised their army food and 
supplies in abundance in 
the conquered territory 
of fertile northern Italy. 
Money was even issued 
to them in advance to 
be spent in Venice. But 



38 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT KAR 



there was no opportunity to use it. In- 
stead tiie army marched in great haste in 
the opposite direction, leaving behind it 
thousands of dead and of prisoners and vast 
quantities of war material. 

The state of affairs in Russia continued to 
worry the Allied nations, for the Germans 
Events in were obtaining a firmer and 

Russia firmer hold upon the country. 

Many persons urged armed intervention by 




' \^.^^,^,J^MEDITERRANEAN SEA 



the Allies. They believed that a large part 
of the population, especially in Siberia, was 
hostile to Germany and would welcome an 
Allied army sent for their protection. It 
could best be sent, they thought, by w'ay 
of Vladivostok on the Pacific coast and 
might well be accompanied by experts who 
should help in reorganizing the government, 
industry, and education. Such a plan might 
finally, also, restore the battle line in Russia 
and thus compel (Jermany to withdraw 
soldiers from the west in order to o])pose it. 



There was one important objection to such 
a move. To many of the Russians it might 
seem a plan for the conquest of their country 
by the Allies, and thus drive them into open 
sympathy with Germany. This objection 
has been partly overcome, and some aid, 
both military and civil, has been sent to 
Russia. 

In August Allied forces were landed on the 
^Nlurman coast and occupied Archangel on 
the White Sea ; others were 
landed in Vladivostok. These 
forces have cooperated with 
forces of friendly Russians and 
former subjects of Austria-Hun- 
gary who had been prisoners in 
Russia but asserted their inde- 
pendence. The most important 
of these forces were the Czecho- 
slovaks, who had come from 
Bohemia and other subject 
states of Austria-Hungary. 

Germany's three Allies — Aus- 
tria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and 

Turke\' — stood bv 

, ".-111 ■ Germany's 

her untd she began iggg ^f Allies 

to lose steadily, i. Bulgaria's 

Then thev had to surrender on 

• September 30 

shift tor themselves. 
The first to desert was Bulgaria. 
That country had entered the 
war for booty alone ; and when " 
all hope of booty was lost, peace 
became desirable. It soon be- 
came a necessity. The Allied armies in 
September reconquered a large part of Serbia 
and badly defeated two Bulgarian armies. 
Then they opened the way to Sofia itself, 
the capital of Bulgaria. King Ferdinand 
was helpless before them. He made a des- 
perate appeal to Germany for aid ; but it 
brought none, for Germany already had too 
many troubles of her own. Then on Sep- 
tember 30 he made a full surrender. This 
first break in the ranks of tiie Central 
Powers left Turkev isolated from her Allies 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



39 



and shattered the dream of a 
great Pan-German Empire. 

Turkey soon followed Bulgaria. 
The Allies, marching rapidly 

2. Turkeys "Ol^th through Pal- 

Collapse on estine and Syria 

October 31 ^pjg_ ^2), and 

northwest from Bagdad up the 
Euphrates and Tigris Valleys, 
conquered the country as they 
went. From both directions 
they approached Aleppo, the 
main base of the German-Turkish 
armies in Asia Minor, and its 
capture was certain. I'ncondi- 
tional surrender by the Turk 
October .31. 

Austria-Hungary was the sole ally re- 
maining. She had never recovered from her 
disastrous defeat by the Italians. What 




occurred 




made matters far worse was that the Italians 
did not stop fighting even after „ ^^ 

. „, 3. The surren- 

winning a great victory. I hey der of Austria- 
pushed on into Austrian terri- Hungary on 

'^ . November 3 

tory, destroying enemy troops, 

capturing vast supplies, and conquer- 
ing important strongholds. Meanwhile 
there was great disorder throughout 
Austria-Hungary, revolution and famine 
threatening the entire land. Since no 
aid could come from Germany, there 
was nothing to do but give up. An 
armistice was signed on November 3, 
which amounted to unconditional sur- 
render. Thus within five weeks all 
Germany's allies were wrested from 
her. 

It was Germany's turn next. She 
could not long fight the whole world 
alone even in her best Extent of 
days, and now she was Germany's 
scarcely in condition to Collapse on 
£ I X i 11 xj a } November 11 
fight at all. Her final 

surrender occurred on November 11. 
How desperate her situation had be- 
come is revealed in the conditions that 
she accepted in order to bring an end 
to the fighting. There were thirty- 
four items in all, in the agreement for 
an armistice. A few of them will show 
the character of the whole. 



40 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



Belgium, France, Liixeniliurg, and Alsace- 
Lorraine had to be e\acuated within four- 
teen days, ^'ast supplies in good condi- 
tion had to be turned over to the Allies ; for 
example, 5000 guns — 2500 heavy and 2500 
field guns — also, 1700 airplanes. All Ger- 
man territory west of the Rhine River had 
to be evacuated by German troops (see 
Fig. 43), and occupied by troops of the Allies 
and the United States. The Germans were 
to surrender to these troops the three main 




Fig. 44. — German submarines surrendcrinK 

bridges across the Rhine, that is, those at 
Cologne, Coblenz, and Mayence, and all land 
east of the Rhine within eighteen miles of 
each bridge. In addition a six-mile neutral 
zone should be established east of the Rhine 
and of these three bridge-heads, extending all 
the way from the Dutch border to Switzer- 
land. The zone is indicated in Fig. 4.S. 
Five thousand locomotives and one hundred 
fifty thousand cars were to be delivered, 
all in good condition. (The Germans had 
stolen a vast number of locomotives and cars 
from France and Belgium during the war.) 
Finally a large part of the German navy and 



all of her submarines had to be surrendered 
(Fig. 44). 

When the defeated German soldiers re- 
turned to Berlin early in December, they 
were greeted by Chancellor Ebert with the 
statement, "Xo enemy overcame you." If 
that were true, one wonders why they accepted 
these conditions. 

The extent of the German collap.se is 
indicated further by the fate The Kaisers 
of the Kaiser. When the war ^^te 

began in 1914, 
probably no ruler 
was more power- 
ful than he, or 
more firmly fijxed 
on his throne. 
Yet on November 
10, 1918, he felt 
so unsafe in Ger- 
many that he fled 
to Holland, where 
he held himself 
practically a pris- 
oner. Then on 
November 28 he 
signed a docu- 
ment renouncing 
his rights as King 
of Prussia and 
Emperor of Ger- 
many. Now he 
is a plain man, named William Hohenzol- 
lern, without a country ; and no nation 
wants him even as a guest. Perhaps no 
man has ever fallen so far as he ! He has 
the distinction of having caused more suffer- 
ing than any man that ever lived ; and he 
may yet be brought to trial for his crimes. 

Ordinarily an armistice is only a truce 
between parties at war, and the fighting may 
be begun again. But no one Arrangements 
expected the Germans to con- f*"' peace 
tinue fighting after having accepted the 
terms of the armistice ; they were too weak 
to gain any advantage. Accordingly, as 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



41 




soon as some of the more important terms 
had been satisfactorily met, representatives 
of the Allied Powers, and also of the Neutrals 
in all parts of the world, began to collect at 
Paris for consideration of the conditions of 
peace. President Wilson with a party of 
Americans arrived in France for that purpose 
on December 13. The Central Powers, of 
course, sent no representatives. It was 
their humble task merely to accept such 
conclusions as the Peace Conference might 
reach. 

There was a vast number of questions 
demanding attention; but the most im- 



portant of all concerned the formation of a 
League of Nations that should, if possible, 
prevent war in the future, heading ques- 
This world war has been such tions to be 
an awful calamity, that all pos- considered 
sible measures must be taken a League*o°° " 
to prevent its like again. If Nations for 
such an object can be accom- ''**" 
plished our vast sacrifices may yet have 
proved worth while. 

The question next in importance concerned 
the independence that should be allowed to 
masses of people who speak the same language 
and have leading interests in common. Pres- 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 




Fig. 46. — A modern Amerioan battleship. 



ident Wilson has proposed that such people 

should, themselves, determine their goN'ern- 

ment and their boundaries. 

2. Formation . t i i 

of new nations ihat IS a Very radical proposal 
and new ^o make. If it is adopted at 

the Peace Conference the map 
of Europe antl of many other parts of 
the world will be greatly modified. For 
example, Alsace-Lorraine will return to 
France (Fig. 45) ; that is sure to happen. 
A great country, called Poland, may be 
revived just east of Germany, made up of 
territory from Germany, Russia, and Austria. 
Trace its proposed boundaries, and note 
that they ;irc desired to extend from the 
Baltic to the Black Sea. A second great 
country, called Czecho-Slovakia, may be 
carved out of northern Austria-Hiuigary. 
Trace its possible boundaries. A third, 
called Ukraine, may be formed from southern 
Russia and Eastern Austria-Hungary. The 
fact that it partly overlaps the region de- 
sired by the Poles suggests some of the diffi- 
culties that must arise in any attempt to 
carry out President Wilson's proposal. Note 
the eastern boundary line now demanded by 
the Greeks; tiie northeastern boundary de- 
manded by the Italians; and the new nation, 
called Jugoslavia, that may be formed out of 
southern Austria-Hungary. These are only. 



1 1 1 1 "■ Reparation 
JNOW she must be held by Germany 



a few of the changes concerning new nations 
and boundaries awaiting decision at the 
Peace Conference. 

Germany wantonly stole and destroyed 
property in northern France and in Belgium, 
doing vast injury to those coun- 
tries. 

responsible for the damage, and her punish- 
bhe has practiced a cruelty to- 
ward her .colonies in Africa that is scarcely 
believable. Possibly she will now be de- 
prived of all her colonies. Figure 1 shows 
the colonies Germany held before the war, 
and Figure 47 shows the countries that were 
associated with Germany in the war, also 
the most important German colonies. On 
page 45 there is a table of colonies formerly 
in possession of Germany. 

Certain men in Germany, including the 
Kaiser, are directly responsible for orders 
that destroyed lives and property contrary 
to international law; they may now be 
called to account for their crimes. The 
treatment for Germany is thus a third 
prominent matter for attention in the Con- 
ference. 

These three are only a few of the many 
subjects for discussion. The newspapers and 
magazines are reporting the progress made 
from day to day in the Conference. 




--i,-^c>1sC^'"^-^- 



Kvsz;} 




11 



Dl 



I I 






44 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



11. Cost of the War 

There is no accurate way of estimating a 
great many of the costs of war. For example 
Values that ^^ '^ difficult to assign a definite 
cannot be cost to the loss of a life, to 

estimated ^ wound that parti}' or wholly 

disables a man for work ; to loss of health 
owing to exposure ; to the pain endured by a 
wounded man even though the wound finally 
heals ; to the life-long sorrow and loneliness 
due to death of loved ones ; to the neglect in 
education and other care that children suffer 
when they have been made orphans ; to the 
anguish caused by the separation and partial 
destruction of families living in the region of 
fighting. All such things are to be counted 
among the costs of war ; indeed, they are the 
main costs because they show what a fearful 
thing war is, and should always be kept in 
mind when the glories of war are mentioned. 
Yet there is no way of estimating their worth. 

A few of the very many kinds of work re- 
Expenses of quired for the conduct of war 
the war have been briefly described. 

Each of these calls for vast sums of 



money. For example, the pay of a private 
soldier is thirty dollars per month, with an 
extra allowance of three dollars per month 
for foreign service. Three million soldiers 
therefore would cost the nation close to one 
hundred million dollars per month. Cloth- 
ing is an additional item, costing much more 
during war than in time of peace. It is 
estimated that diu-ing peace times each 
soldier, fully equipped, costs our government 
fifteen hundred dollars a year. A single great 
cannon costs many thousands of dollars, and 
a single shot from it at least several hundreds. 
The numbers of men engaged in this war far 
exceed those in any previous war, and the 
expenses reach fabulous sums. 

In order to raise the money the govern- 
ments have not only levied unusually high 
taxes but have also borrowed extensively. 

Each nation had debts before the war be- 
gan ; but they have all been tremendously 
increased since that date. The indebtedness 
total debt of each country ac- of the leading 
cording to the latest estimates of nations at war 
the Department of Commerce of the United 
States was as follows : 



PERCENTAGE OF DEBT 



UNITED 
STATES- -- 
GREAT 

BRITAIN 

FRANCE-... 

ITALY 

GERMANY. 



...5.9 7. 
.44.3% 
..40.7» 
.25. « 
.35.3". 
..36.3 f- 



FRANCE- 
rTALY-- 



• 55,000,000,000 
"« 20,000,000.000 




THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



45 



It is possible to estimate the worth of all 
the property owned by each nation and thus 
find its total wealth. Then by comparing 
the debt of each with this total wealth its 
per cent of indebtedness can be shown. 
Note this per cent in the table. Observe 
that the wealth of the United 
^J'^^f^f'^y States far exceeds that of any 
' States loans ^'^^ ^^ ^^^ other countries. In 
fact, it is as great as that of sev- 
eral of them added together. Observe, also, 



that our per cent of indebtedness is smaller 
than that of any one of the other Powers. 
This means that the loans we make to our 
Government are far safer than those made to 
any one of these other Powers. In other 
words, our investments in United States 
bonds and war savings stamps are the safest 
investments in the wide world. That is 
something to make us proud, and also to 
make us eager to make more loans to 
Uncle Sam. 



States of Germany 



Name 


Area sq. mi. 


Population 
1910 


Name 


Abba sq. mi. 


Population 
1910 


Kingdoms — 

Prussia 

Bavaria 

Saxony 

Wiirttemberg .... 
Grand-Duchies — 

Baden 

Hesse 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin 

Saxe-Weimar .... 

Mecklenburg-Strelitz 

Oldenburg 

Duchies — 

Brunswick 

Saxe-Meiningen . 


134,616 
29,292 

5,789 
7,534 

5,823 
2,966 
5,068 
1,397 
1,131 
2,482 

1,418 
953 
511 
764 
888 


40,165,219 

6,887,291 
4,806,661 
2,437,574 

2,142,833 
1,282,051 
639,958 
417,149 
106,442 
483,042 

494,339 
278,762 
216,128 
257,177 
331,128 


Principalities — 

Schwarzburg-Sonders- 
hausen 

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt 

Waldeck 

Reuss-Greiz .... 

Reuss-Schleiz 

Schaumburg-Lippe . 

Lippe 

Free Towns — 

Liibeck 

Bremen 

Hamburg .... 
Imperial Territory — 

Alsace-Lorraine . 
German Empire . 


333 
363 
433 
122 
319 
131 
469 

115 
99 
160 

5,604 


89,917 

100,702 
61,707 
72,769 

152,752 
46,652 

150,937 

116,559 

299,526 

1,014,664 

1,874,014 


Saxe-Altenburg 
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha . 
Anhalt 


208,780 


64,925,993 



Colonies formerly in possession of Germany 



Name 


Akea act. MI. 
(Estimated) 


Population 
(Efitimated) 


Name 


Area sq. mi. 
(Estimated) 


Population 
(Estimated) 


In Africa 

Togoland 

Kamerun 

S. W. Africa .... 

East Africa .... 
In the Pacific 

German New Guinea 


33,700 
190,000 
322,450 
364,000 

70,000 
20,000 


1,000,000 

3,500,000 

200,000 

7,000,000 

110,000 
188,000 


Caroline, Pelew, and 
Marianne Islands 

Solomon Islands . 

Marshall Islands 

Samoan Islands . 
In Asia — 

Kiauchau .... 
Total dependencies . 


800 
4,200 

160 
985 

117 


41,600 
45,000 
15,000 
33,000 

60,000 


Bismarck Archipelago . 


1,600,412 


12,192,600 



46 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE GREAT WAR 



DECLARATIONS OF WAR 

ALLIED POWERS 



Nation 



Declabation of Wa« Against 



France Germany 

Austria . 
Turkey . 
Bulgaria . 

Great Britain Germany 

Austria . 
Turkey . 
Bulgaria . 

Serbia Germany 

Turkey . 
Bulgaria . 

Montenegro Austria . 

Germany 



Aug. 3 
Aug. 13 
Nov. 5 



Aug. 4 
Aug. 13 
Nov. 5 



Aug. 
Dec. 



Aug. 
Aug. 



Japan 



Germany Aug. 23 



Russia Turkey . 

Bulgaria . 

Portugal Germany 

ffaiv Austria . 

"^^ • ■ Turkey . 

Bulgaria . 

Germany 

San Marino Austria . 

. Roumania Austria . 

Greece Germany 

Bulgaria . 

United States Germany 

Austria . 

Cuba Germany 

Panama Germany 

Austria . 

China Germany 

Austria . 

BrazU Germany 

Siam Germany 

Austria . 

Liberia Germany 



Nov. 3 



Nation Declaration o 

Germany Russia . . 

France 

Belgium . . 

Portugal . . 

Roumania . 

Austria Serbia . . 

Russia . . 
Montenegro 
Japan 

Belgium . . 

Turkey Allies . 

Roumania . 



CENTRAL POWERS 
War Againbt 



1914 


Aug. 


1 


Aug. 


3 


Aug. 


4 


July 


28 


Aug. 


6 


Aug. 


9 


Aug. 


27 


Aug. 


28 



May 24 
Aug. 21 
Oct. 19 



May 24 



Aug. 28 



Aug. 27 
Nov. 28 ' 



Mar, 9 
Sept. 14 



Bulgaria Serbia 



Aug. 29 
NATIONS THAT SEVERED RELATIONS WITH GERMANS' 



Oct. 14 



July 2 
July 2 

Apr. 6 
Dec. 7 

Apr. 7 

Apr. 7 
Dec. 10 

Aug. 14 
Aug. 14 



July 22 
July 22 

Aug. 4 



Bolivia April 14, 1917 Haiti 

Guatemala April 27, 1917 Costa Rica 

Honduras May 17, 1917 Peru 

Nicaragua May 18, 1917 Uruguay 

' Declaration of war by the provisional government of Greece. 



June 17, 1917 
Sept. 21, 1917 
Oct. 6, 1917 
Oct. 7. 1917 



1 TBRfiRV OF CONGRESS 



021 



547 874 9 • 



